Unexpected Love
by kidoairaku
Summary: [Nar/Kag] Oneshot; probably a little OOC


**Disclaimer:    **Inuyasha characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi.  Other characters are property of Dark Star.

**Rating:**         PG-13****

**Summary:**    [Nar/Kag] Oneshot; probably a little OOC

**Genre:            **Romance/Angst

**A/N:**            Just another oneshot is all.  ^_^  Hope no one minds it too much.

**Unexpected Love**

December 2002

_"Naraku!  You bastard!  Let me go!  You **KILLED** Inuyasha!  WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!  LET ME GO!  I'M GOING TO MAKE YOUR LIFE A LIVING HELL!" the girl screamed, kicking, in Naraku's arms.  "You'll regret this for the rest of your **DAMN** life!"_

_Naraku was unfazed.  He allowed her to kick and scream as much as she wanted; it didn't matter to him.  She, above all people, had untapped power; she would be nothing to him.  He didn't even **need** her.  But while he had the chance, why not take her?  Her dearly loved Inuyasha was dead, she was miserable; her condition couldn't possibly get any worse.  After shattering the damn shards again, it would only prove to his advantage to have her locate them with him.  The process would go much faster.  After he had what he desired, he would throw her away like the pathetic human she was._

~*~*~*~*~

It had been the first day of many in which he would come to realize she was more than a pathetic human.  He, the ultimate evil, and she, the ultimate innocence, had somehow come together.  Like you would say opposites attract.  He had never, not in a million lifetimes, would have expected this result.  Yet here he was, regretting everything he had ever done to hurt her.

The tense body leapt forth again, this time with renewed strength, the strength of rage and sorrow.  His eyes burned a blood red, his fingers sported razor-sharp claws.  His spider scar upon his back pulsed with a hot energy.  _Why did the Fates have to deal him such a cruel hand?!_  The dark miasma swirled violently around his form, choking his towering opponent to the point of suffocation.  With a cry of tormented fury, he slashed the beast, a gigantic snakelike creature, until there remained nothing but a bloody mass of tattered flesh.

Normally, he would have enjoyed the tainted feel of blood on his newly acquired claws, but the sensation didn't come.  He was numb with grief; it tore him apart, bit-by-bit.  Now, it was now, that all the despair of losing a loved one crashed down upon him.  It was a new experience, one he intended never to revel in again.

Naraku rushed to the girl's side, the simple **human** girl's side.  Her breathing was labored; she sported a snakebite mark on her wrist and neck.  The wounds were bleeding steadily, the poison having already spread all over her body.  He took her in his arms again, like he had done so many months ago when he first captured her for his own ambitions.  Now, it was with a different motif, a different emotion, different thoughts.  He couldn't believe he was about to lose her, the strong enthusiastic girl who so openly disobeyed him, the most cunning and evil of youkai.  Naraku held the girl close, ever so close, hoping that, somehow, his life force would leak into her, allow her to live.  But it was not that way.  She was only a human, and humans were weak creatures.

_No!  She's not weak!_ He told himself.  After all he had witnessed coming from this little slip of a girl, he could never call her weak.  He brought her closer, ravaging what he could of her fading scent and warmth.  She was the one, the only who treated him as if he was just another being on this planet.  Granted, in the beginning, she had hated him with all her heart, all her soul, but it was forgivable.  How could he not forgive her after all she had shown him?

Her love for him was almost unnoticeable, intangible, but as days progressed, she became closer.  First it was a small concern, growing larger and larger.  Then, she was friendly.  As time passed, it grew to a deep respect, and then, somehow, it had blossomed into love.  And he shared her feelings.  He loved her; more than anything else in the world, he needed her to be with him.  She completed him.  No one else would ever fill the gap in his dark heart.

As he held her against him, he could feel the barest whispers of breath against his cheek.  He pulled back slightly, enough to observe her ashen face.  The blue-gray eyes gazed up to him apologetically, lovingly.  She smiled.  Smiling!  At a time like this?!

          He growled at her.  "This is **not** the time to be smiling!"

The smile turned into a forced laugh.

          "Stop."

But secretly, he didn't want her to stop.  He wanted her to laugh and smile all she wanted…if it meant she would keep on living.  She and he both knew, though, she was going to die, and there was no stopping it.

          "Isn't it funny?" she rasped, reaching up to brush away a strand of raven-black hair from his eyes.  "How I used to hate you?  Despise you?"

The memories still pained him.

          "How I said I would make your life a living hell?" she continued, face blanching even more.

          "Stop.  Save your strength," he pleaded, dark eyes begging with the dying lover.

          "Isn't it funny how much our relationship's changed, Naraku?" she whispered, bringing her arms up around his neck.

He didn't answer, only embraced her intimately, feeling the burn of tears in his eyes.

          "It's ironic, ne?" she murmured bitterly, "We've finally got the Shikon; I finally get the chance to steal it from you, to purify it, and now, I'm dying.  It's so ironic."

He wished, with all his strength, that this was all a dream, that she wasn't really, truly leaving him.

          "What are you going to do with it now, Naraku?" she inquired, pulling away from him.  "Now that you are free of this human.  What are you going to do?"

          "I don't **want** to be free of this human," he snarled, pulling her against him.  "I would **never** want to be free of this human."

          "You would have been free of me eventually," she stated matter-of-factly.  "After all, I'm a human."

Her body was beginning to lose heat; she was going.  Fast.  There was nothing in this world that could bring her back to life, nothing that would revive her.  _DAMMIT!_  His mind searched frantically for a solution, a way to save her.

          "Can't you use your powers to save yourself?!" he cried hoarsely.  "You're a strong human; there must be a way!"

          Smiling, she shook her head ruefully.  "I can't work miracles, Naraku; you, of all people, should know that."

He could feel moisture slipping from his eyes.  So, this was the pain of losing someone who cared for you…it was awful.

          "Besides, your original plans were to get rid of me once you," she took a breath, "re-collected the Shikon, right?"

          "To Hell with my original plans," he hissed.  "I need you!"

His lips pressed pleadingly against hers.  The sensation was as it had been so many times before.  Except, this time, it was not by accident.  The feelings were mutual; the desire was shared.

When they broke away, Naraku held his precious girl close to his body.  Screw everything else on the damn planet!  What he had here was all he would ever need, all he would ever want, ever ask for.  He couldn't believe she would leave him.  He had believed, as long as he lived, she would, and she would always be there.

Reality was such a cruel thing.  It offered him happiness, only to rip it away from him.

Her head felt so heavy!  The pain was becoming unbearable, and it was getting harder and harder to breath.  She felt herself fall sideways, and she felt him fall with her.  Had he given up the will to live?  Did she really mean that much to him?  She would have laughed at the thought a couple months ago.  _Who would ever love Naraku, of all people?_  Go figure.  It was **her** who would fall into his trap, his warm, embracing love.  The love he never revealed to anyone, never even knew he possessed.

Her vision focused.  He was watching her intently, glistening trails of tears shining against his pale flawless skin.  She smiled and gently wiped them away.

          "Naraku," she whispered softly, closing her eyes to the immense pain, "Do something for me."

He pulled her closer, so that she was securely in the circle of his arms, and she took that as a confirmation.

          "Destroy the Shikon no Tama."

His chin rested on top of her head.  She had never really noticed he was so much taller than her before.  Now, she reveled in his tight embrace.  It felt like he would never ever let her go.  She released a content sigh.  Her senses were beginning to numb.  Everything was beginning to disappear.

          "You've given me the feeling that," she murmured, looking up into his dark flickering eyes, "someone loves me.  I love you, too.  Arigatoo…Nara…ku."

For the last time, he witnessed the dark lashes flutter shut, and the breathing stopped altogether.  The warmth left her face, left her whole body.  It felt so cold against him.  He brought the Shikon into a tight fist.  It was lukewarm to the touch.  The glow was a soft blue hue, like that of her eyes.  It was painful to watch.

_Destroy the Shikon…but…how?_  He mulled over the possibilities.  It didn't seem like the damned jewel **could** be destroyed.  _After lusting for the jewel for so long, here I am, destroying it by a human girl's simple request._  He decided to leave it for later.

Somehow, he felt empty now.  His purpose seemed lost to him.  He was barely aware of the never-ending streams of sorrow flowing from his despaired eyes.  As he gazed down at the girl whom would never smile again for him, he made a promise.

The light of the Shikon dulled slightly as he made his pledge.  The jewel evaporated in his hand without his knowing.

He would never leave her side again, he thought.

_It's the least I can do for you…Kagome._

**A/N:                ***sniffle*  Such a tragic fate!  I just had the urge to write this after reading a oneshot.  They're fun!  A lot less hassle than on-going's.  *grumbles*  Tell me what ya thought of this!  I understand I was a little (maybe a lot) repetitive about her leaving and all.  She lived a pretty long time with poison in her, too, didn't she?  -.-;;  Sorry if it doesn't make sense!  Review, ne?

_~*~*~Dark Star~*~*~_

P.S.  The title doesn't make much sense, either, huh?  I was sitting here thinking for a while what could be used for a title, but I couldn't think of anything!


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